Constant velocity universal joints are used in the wheel drive axles of front wheel drive automobiles and four-wheel drive automobiles; these joints are well known to those skilled in the art and are described, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,177,654, 4,300,651, 4,476,950, and 4,634,402, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this specification.
The constant velocity universal joints often are damaged during use. However, because of the relatively high cost of the precision machined components in such joints, the complete replacement of the joint is very expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,444 of Kavthekar discloses a machine for manufacturing constant velocity universal joints. The Kavthekar machine requires the use of a plurality of machining stations (and, thus, a plurality of tools).
It is an object of this invention to provide a grinding bit which may be used in a system for regrinding a variety of worn constant velocity joints to within manufacturers' original tolerances or better, wherein the original bearing balls are replaced by oversized bearing balls of a common size for a particular type and size constant velocity joint.